Chapter 20
A month had passed.
For the first time in a long while, time seemed gentle with them.
The mountains remained silent, the cabin stayed hidden among trees and cliffs, and somehow life had found room to bloom there.
Sara’s belly was already enormous—so big that even she was sometimes surprised when she looked down.
Little Catarina seemed determined to occupy every possible inch inside her.
And Vincenzo had completely lost his mind.
“Babe, I’m going to get some water.”
“I’ll get it.”
“Vincenzo, it’s just a glass.”
“I’ll get it, it’s fine…”
“It’s literally right next to me.”
“I’ll get it.”
“I can walk.”
“It’s no problem…”
Sara crossed her arms, looking at him with a mix of irritation and affection.
“You’re getting paranoid, Vincenzo.”
“I just want to take care of you both, amore.”
“But it’s only a glass of water…”
“You never know.”
On the other side of the room, his brothers watched the scene with mischievous smiles.
“She’s pregnant, man, not broken… Damn,” Mateo commented.
“Go fuck yourselves…” Vincenzo muttered.
“She still has legs,” Lorenzo teased, laughing at the situation. “You’re acting like a belly bodyguard…”
“Whose woman is she, for fuck’s sake?”
The two started laughing. Sara couldn’t hold back her laughter either. And that only made Vincenzo more irritated—and more handsome, in her opinion.
◆◆◆
That same week a new problem arose: the baby’s room.
Vincenzo decided he needed to put everything together himself. After all, it was his daughter. The heir he had wanted so badly with the love of his life. So no one dared stop him.
The result was… disastrous.
“Why is the crib crooked?” Sara asked, standing in the doorway, tilting her head as she tried to understand her man’s design.
“It’s not crooked.”
“It’s tilted.”
“It’s the perspective.”
She held back a laugh. “What perspective?”
He simply said, “Yours…”
Lorenzo came up behind Sara, also curious to see his brother happily building his daughter’s room. He eyed the crib from the side, then looked again.
“If you put the baby in there she’ll roll straight into the wall.”
Vincenzo got irritated. “Then you come assemble it…”
Lorenzo looked at Sara and Eleonora, who had also come to see what was happening. “You see this, ladies? In the end it’s always the uncle who saves the day.”
Vincenzo glared at his brother. “Get out of here. I’ll do it myself. I’m the father…”
“Stop being so proud. She’s my niece too and I want to help…”
Mateo, the youngest brother, showed up to see the mess. “What’s all this chaos? What are you guys doing?”
“Vincenzo is putting together our niece’s room and I want to help too and he won’t let me…”
“And nobody called me? I want in too…” Mateo didn’t even wait for his brother to finish before bending down to grab some of the wood pieces on the floor.
Lorenzo looked at the almost-finished crib and the mountain of screws on the floor. “Why are there leftover screws here? How the hell did you put this together without the screws, little brother?”
Vincenzo just muttered, “I deserve this…”
Eleonora simply watched the scene next to Sara, both of them laughing.
“Ow…”
“Don’t laugh like that, amore,” Vincenzo asked, trying to keep a straight face.
“You put the drawer in backward, sweetheart.”
“I did not.”
“Yes you did… It looks weird.”
“I didn’t.”
“Vincenzo…”
He let out a long, defeated sigh.
“Fine… I’ll do it again.”
By the end of the day the room was ready. Or at least acceptable. There was a little crib, a dresser, small clothes neatly arranged, soft blankets, and a few toys. Everything simple, but full of love.
Vincenzo stood in the doorway for several minutes in silence, just looking. As if he were trying to believe it was real. That this baby really existed. That she was coming. That after everything, he would finally have the family he had secretly longed for.
That night the cabin was quiet. The sky was clear and thousands of stars shone above the mountains. Sara and Vincenzo sat on the porch, wrapped in a thick blanket. The cold wind gently stirred her hair, and her head rested on his shoulder.
For a few minutes neither of them said anything. They just watched the landscape, soaking in each other’s presence. Until a small ripple moved across her belly.
Vincenzo smiled immediately.
“She moved.”
“She always moves for you,” Sara answered affectionately.
“Not like this.”
He placed his hand carefully over her belly, as if touching something sacred. His fingers traced a slow, loving path.
“Catarina… Daddy’s right here, sweetheart… Ready to show you this incredible world… There are amazing animals out here, forests, rivers, waterfalls, and blue oceans… You’re going to be amazed, princess.”
Sara smiled, feeling her chest tighten with emotion.
“It’s still going to take her a little while to start seeing the world after she’s born, honey…”
“I know… But I still want to show her everything…”
“I want to teach her how to fight, how to defend what’s hers, teach her strategies so she can survive on her own, not to trust anyone, and most of all… to warn her that the uncles she has are completely crazy too…”
Sara started laughing softly.
“And that she shouldn’t follow any of their advice… Seriously, they might take my daughter sailing on the open sea when she’s only ten without me knowing.”
Sara laughed harder. “I think you’re right… I think little Catarina’s life is going to be amazing…”
He lowered his head, resting his forehead gently against her belly. His voice came out low, almost a whisper:
“Did you hear that, princess?”
A kick answered.
They both laughed together. Then Vincenzo grew serious for a moment. He stroked her belly slowly, with a tenderness that made Sara’s heart ache from so much love.
“Your dad took a long time to get to you,” he murmured. “But I promise I’ll be here to watch you be born and grow up just as beautiful as your mother.”
Sara’s eyes filled with tears. She took his hand, intertwining their fingers lovingly.
And for a few seconds they just stayed there, watching the stars, dreaming about the future.
That was when it happened.
A strong, sudden pain.
Sara held her breath. The smile disappeared from her face. Her hand gripped Vincenzo’s arm hard—very hard.
“Amore?” he called immediately, already on high alert.
She closed her eyes, waiting. The pain shot through her body and, after a few seconds, passed. As quickly as it had come.
Vincenzo was already in a panic.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know…”
“What happened?”
“I think…” she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “I think it was a contraction.”
The entire world seemed to freeze.
“What?”
“Calm down.”
“WHAT?”
“Vincenzo…”
“IS SHE COMING?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Really sure?”
“Honey…”
“I’m not ready.”
Sara smiled. “I noticed.”
“She can’t be born today.”
“Why not?”
“Because I still haven’t finished that bookshelf.”
Sara started laughing, even with the scare still in her chest. And that made Vincenzo breathe. Just a little. Only a little.
But when he looked back at her belly, a different feeling took over his chest. The same feeling she was having. The same quiet certainty.
The time was coming.
And very soon… nothing would ever be the same again.